West Richland graduation

West Richland High School said goodbye to 23 seniors Friday night during its 2013 graduation ceremony.

Salutatorian Shannon Gray thanked her teachers, family and friends, who were "always there" and influencing the class.

"There are several things that nobody tells you about high school," said co-valedictorian Deanna Michels. "Freshman year, no one tells you not to sign up for every club that is offered, because you will in fact have to fund-raise for every one of those clubs."

"And senior year, no one tells you how quickly graduation will come," she said, "OK, so maybe people have been telling you that since you were in junior high, but you don't believe them."

"The band Semisonic reminds us in their song 'Closing Time' that every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end," said co-valedictorian Erin Taylor. "Although we all worked very hard to be here today, we couldn't have done it without our parents, our teachers, our friends, our coaches, and our church families. Thank you for helping shape us into who we are today."

Several scholarships and awards were also presented. Among them were the recognition of Michels as Illinois State Scholar, and Honors Scholars Gray, Michels and Taylor.